A Special Circumstance
by Astrid Midnight
Summary: Harper always thought she was a normal girl with a normal life and a normal dad. That basically goes out of the window when mysterious creatures known as Fables come after her and are determined to capture her. Soon, Bigby and Snow find themselves seeking out this girl as they find there is more to her than first thought. Maybe something... magical.
1. Chapter 1-Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Wolf Among Us or its plot/story and characters. Those rights belong to Telltale. I only own my OCs.**

 **Hey guys who stumbled upon this fanfic. I'm Astrid Midnight, but I like to be called XXX. Why? Who knows? I sure as hell don't. This was just an idea that was racking my head for a while and I felt like it needed to be published before I forget about. After this intro I don't exactly know where this is gonna go so don't expect that many good follow ups anytime soon**

 **Ramblings aside, I give you *dramatic pause* A fanfic…**

 _Everything was burning; every fibre of her being. All the voices around her became nothing to her. Washed out. A distant echo in her head. Once she opened her eyes, she knew something was different. Nothing was in sight anymore. Nothing but fiery red smoke around her. She wanted it to stop. She really really wanted it to stop. But she couldn't. It was already happening. She could see the smoke disappearing from her very eyes as it engulfed her body. She could already feel electricity surging through her body. Instead of warm blood, cold ice coursed up and down her body. Suddenly, all feeling in her body was lost, except for her eyes. Strangely enough, she could feel herself blink, but the more she closed her eyes, the more they turned from sparkly gold to sickening red._

* * *

Celeste sat bolt right up in bed, face and neck caked in sweat. Instantly, once her mind recalibrated itself, she reached over to her nightstand and grabbed her compact mirror. She stared into her eyes for what felt like centuries until she could admit the truth: gleaming gold and sadistic scarlet.

She sighed in relief as she laid her head back down on her pillow. Celeste couldn't help but play the nightmare in her head over and over again. _This is getting worse than I thought._ At first, Celeste thought nothing of it. She though they were just dreams. But as the next dream was a development of the previous one, they got more and more real by the minute. That meant that they got more and more terrifying. All she wanted was for it to stop.

Suddenly, a piercing scream from next door snapped her from her thoughts. Immediately, all in one motion, she whipped off the covers, jumped from the bed and made a quick dash to the source of the noise.

Bursting the wooden door open, Celeste frantically scanned her daughter's bedroom. Soon enough, her eyes fixed onto a small figure sitting on the bed, curled up in a ball whimpering instead of screaming at the top of her lungs.

Celeste ran towards the girl and gently placed a hand on her tear-soaked arm. "Harper…" The young girl looked up at her mother with bloodshot eyes. "What happened?"

As soon as the question was asked, Harper jumped into her mother's arm and began to sob uncontrollably once again. She mumbled something barely audible. "The-the-the" she stuttered. After a moment of silence she finally finished. "The monsters…"

Celeste sighed and pulled Harper in closer. "Oh, honey…", she soothed, brushing a loose blonde strand of hair from her face. "You don't have to worry. They're not real.

But that was the thing. Harper's monsters _were_ real and they always go all out when they try to attack her. No matter what Celeste did, no matter what spell casted, they came back stronger and angrier. _But I have to do something. I have to keep her safe and I don't care what the cost is._

After about another half hour of calming down Harper, Celeste tucked her daughter back into bed and kissed her goodnight, praying that she wouldn't hear her screams again. She put on her nightgown, made her way into the living room and slumped down into the sofa.

Her situation was getting worse by the minute and she had to do something about it. It was risky, but it was the only option she had. Reluctantly, she reached for the phone and slowly began dialling the number.

The tone went on for several seconds before someone answered. "Hello?", said a male voice.

"Hi, it's Celeste.", she said.

The man sighed. "Why are you calling me?"

"I need help. Well, actually she needs help."

"And I was the first person you thought of in this kind of situation? Celeste, I know you're in a tough position, but I don't know if I'm the right person for the job."

Celeste was now on the verge of tears. "I don't know what else to do. You're the only one I can trust."

He sighed again. "You sure they won't find out?"

"I've lasted this long. No reason to fail now."

 **Like I said: haven't really got that many ideas for the story, but I will do the best I can to update as soon as I can. No promises though. Thanks for taking the time to read my fanfic.**

 **Until next time my dear comrades.**


	2. Chapter 2-10 Years Later

Chapter 2:

 **Disclaimer: I do not own The Wolf Among Us or its plot/story and characters. Those rights belong to Telltale. I only own my OCs.**

 **Okay, one thing I should get out of the way is this: I'm not exactly good at writing characters in a fanfic, so if you feel like someone's out of character, I apologise. I'm a little new at writing fanfiction, so I'll grab the concept eventually. Thanks to everyone who have read and reviewed the story!**

 **Responses:**

 **Littlemiss-RozaAnn: Thanks! It means a lot that you're enjoying the story. Also, if I get the story down correctly, you'll enjoy what will come in the future!**

 **Elis Island: Thank you for the feedback! You've described how they're used in the US and I don't live there, so the way I use it might be different. Maybe she is, maybe she isn't. That's what I love about fanfiction: ANYTHING can happen.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own TWAU or its characters. All rights go to Telltale. I only own my OCs.**

 **Without further ado... The Story Continues...**

 _10 Years Later..._

It was another day at the Business Office where Bigby was working, hours into the night, through stacks and stacks of paperwork. After the whole mishap with Crane and the Crooked Man, Fabletown wasn't really the same as it was before. Ever since they arrived to the city, they just about managed to earn a living and start a new life. But ever since the Crooked Man came into the picture, it made life a lot more complicated, even after they got rid of him.

His thoughts were cut off by the phone going off on his desk. Bigby _really_ didn't want to handle anything just when he was about to call it a night, but he was the Sheriff so he had to do his job.

"Hello?", answered.

"Hey, Sheriff, it's me." It was Gren and the sound of his voice indicated that he was once again drunk. "Listen, there are a couple of Mundies fighting next to the bar. It's scaring people away from the bar, Holly doesn't like it and _I_ can't stand the noise."

 _Mundies. They seriously called me to break up a couple of Mundies?_

The Sheriff sighed and rubbed his face. "Fine. I'll be right there."

00o0o0o0o

He travelled down to the Trip Trap bar, got out of the cab to see Gren leaning against the wall of the bar with a whiskey bottle in his hand.

"Hey there Sheriff!" His speech was slurred, meaning that he had one too many shots.

"Gren.", he simply said. "You called, so where are they?" The drunk Fable didn't reply. He merely stretched out his arm and pointed around the corner with his bottle.

Bigby dropped his cigarette on the ground and crushed it with his foot. He looked around to see two people fighting and yelling at each other in the alley. He could barely see them, but could see that they were teenagers or young adults.

"Get off the streets, Gren. Can't risk the Mundies seeing anything. Especially since you're drunk."

All Gren could do in response was laugh. Bigby was losing his patience and dealing with Gren was the last thing he wanted. He gently (or what he considered gentle) grabbed him by the shoulder and dragged him back into the bar.

"Get in there and sober up." The drunk Fable stumbled and immediately passed out on the floor in front of Holly. Nothing was said. The two both sighed as Holly tried to get the intoxicated Fable up and Bigby rounded the corner and into the alley.

0o0o0o0

"What did you just say to me!", an intoxicated female yelled at someone.

Bigby see a young girl, about seventeen or eighteen, yelling at a man who looked like he was in his twenties.

The man didn't respond and roughly pushed her away.

Something snapped within the girl as she looked down at an empty bottle in her hand and, in a split second, brought the bottle down on the man's head and smashed on impact. Bigby decided to intervene and went to grab the girl, but the older man lunged for her, causing the two to tumble onto the ground. He was now on top of the girl and pulled a pocket knife out of his pocket.

"I'm gonna show you never to mess with me.", he said with his teeth clenched.

Bigby tried his best to get the man off of the girl but, even with his strength and skills, it was always a challenge when it came to drunks.

"Get off of her!", he yelled. The man attempted to just shrug Bigby to no avail. After a little more effort, Bigby managed to pull him off the girl and pushed him to the ground. The man stood up and stupidly tried to throw a punch at Bigby and he easily managed to block it and retaliated by punching him in the face, which knocked him to the ground, causing the drunk to black out. He grabbed a pair of handcuffs from his pockets and restrained the man as a police car arrived at the scene.

The teenage girl got up from the ground and took the opportunity to make a break for it. But Bigby was much faster. He tackled the girl and handcuffed her as well.

"Let me go!", the girl yelled, still drunk.

Due to Bigby's strength, the squirming teenager was no match for him. "Not a chance. Your under arrest for and underage drinking and violence against citizens."

She mumbled something intangible. As he took her to police car, the girl refused to move so Bigby had to forcefully drag and push her into the car.

 _This is gonna be long night..._

o0o0o0o

 **Just to be clear we flashed forward to AFTER the events of the game.**

 **I apologise if this chapter isn't that great. I'm a little knew to writing fanfiction and getting my ideas out in story form. Don't worry, I'll get the hang of it once I get into the swing of things.**

 **Be sure to leave your thoughts about the fanfic (It's where some of the motivation comes from anyway). I've been thinking about this story and I think I have a feeling where it's going to go so I'll try my best to update. Once again, I can't promise anything.**

 **Thanks to everyone who have read and enjoyed this story.**

 **XXX**


	3. Chapter 3-Interview

Chapter 3:

 **Disclaimer: I do not own The Wolf Among Us or its plot/story and characters. Those rights belong to Telltale. I only own my OCs.**

 **Hey guys! Here I am with another chapter! If I didn't say it before, I'll say it again: HUGE thanks to you guys who read and reviewed the story. It really means a lot to me!**

 **Responses:**

 **Littlemiss-RozaAnn: HI! Thanks again for the support and I hope you enjoy this one!**

 **Lloyd RPGFan: Yeah, the fanfiction site can sometimes mess with the chapters and make it look like a big jumbled up mess, but I fixed the chapter once I discovered something happened to it. Hopefully it won't happen again.**

 **Once again, on with the story!**

Once Bigby had the two troublemakers driven to the station, he was given the job of interviewing the teenage girl.

The Sheriff looked through the window and saw where the girl was sitting at the table. She was wearing a leather jacket over black clothing and had makeup that was beginning to smudge. She had wavy blond hair tied up in a high, messy ponytail, with locks falling out at the side of her face, a fair skin complexion and blue eyes. The girl was still pretty intoxicated from the alcohol she had drank but sat patiently, chewing gum and kicking the chair that was opposite her until it fell over. She smirked as if she were pleased with the random action.

Bigby was frustrated with what he had to deal with that night. He had never handled teenagers, let alone when they were drunk, since they would usually cause more trouble that way. He entered the room with the girl immediately beginning to stare him down. The only sound that could be heard was the girl popping her gum. He picked up the chair from the floor, sat down and placed a water bottle in front of her. The teenager took the gum out of her mouth and intentionally pressed it down into the table, still giving Bigby a smug look. She picked up the bottle and downed the water.

"Alright.", Bigby started, lighting his cigarette. "What's your name?" She didn't respond. All she did was lean back in her chair and cross her arms like a stubborn child. "Look kid, you wanna keep this up, then fine. I've got all night. You're just gonna be stuck here and I think that's the last thing you want."

The girl looked back at him and nodded. "Okay sheriff." She leaned forward that was enough for Bigby to get a whiff of the alcohol in her breath. Boy she drank a _lot_. "Harper. My name's Harper Dawson." She took another sip of the water.

"What was going on between you and the man in the alley? Why were you attacking each other?", he asked.

Completely out of nowhere, Harper began to giggle hysterically. Bigby couldn't tell if she was being serious or if it was just the alcohol talking. "Don't worry. That was just my friend, Frank. We're always fighting about weird stuff." Suddenly, she paused her laughter. "Although we're never usually drunk."

Bigby got up from his chair and left the room and didn't come back until another thirty minutes had gone by. Time seemed to slow down for Harper so she just resumed kicking the chair opposite her until it toppled over again. She then looked to the side and figured that people were still watching her through the wall. Just for the heck of it, she took the empty bottle and chucked it against the wall, startling a couple of the officers.

Once the half hour went by, Bigby came back in but stood in the doorway. "Good news kid. They're letting you off with a warning, but if they catch doing shit like that again then-"

Harper cut him off. "Yeah yeah I got it." She got up from out of the chair but had to balance herself on the table.

"Anyway they called your father so he should be here to come and get you. Come on."

"Sure.", she slurred. She began to stumble over to the door but was moving at a ridiculously slow pace. When she eventually reached the door, she bent down and put her hands on her knees as she felt like she was going to throw up. Bigby could see a strange pendant falling out of her shirt.

It was silver with a red ruby in the middle and attached to a thin fragile chain. If you looked closely, you could sometimes see flecks of gold glow inside the gem. A part of Bigby felt like he had seen it before. He had always seen pictures of magical items in the books back at the Office but never physically saw one. He also didn't to believe that a Mundy would be in possession of one.

 _Why would she have one?_ , he thought, rubbing his chin, as Harper stumbled to the front door.

The Sheriff escorted Harper to the entrance, where an older man was waiting patiently by a car. He was around Bigby's height, if not a little taller and had dark brown hair and green eyes.

When the man caught sight of Harper, he heaved a sigh of relief. "Oh Harper." He drew the girl into his arms. "Thank goodness you're alright." He looked to Bigby. "I, uh, hope she didn't cause you any trouble Sheriff."

Bigby scratched the back of his head. "Don't worry about it, Mr Dawson. She's off with a warning, but just make sure she stays out of trouble."

"Please, call me Mark. And, of course, I'll make sure she never does anything like that again.", he replied, giving Harper a stern look, who just gave a sarcastic smile. She huffed over to the car and slammed the door shut.

Mark sighed and rounded the car. "Kids these days. Am I right?", he said, trying to be funny.

The family drove off and Bigby kept his eyes on Harper. Once they were out of sight, he began to make his way back to the business office with one thought at the back of his mind.

 _Who was that girl?_

ooo000ooo00oo00oo

They didn't talk on the way home. Based on what had transpired, nothing needed to be said.

But it didn't mean that she was let off that easy. "I can't believe this, Harper." He looked to her. "Drinking?! I thought you knew better than that!"

Harper didn't respond. She just rubbed her head due to a throbbing headache.

"I also can't believe that we've only been here for three months and you're already getting arrested."

She sighed. "If I'm completely honest, I didn't think I was gonna last that long. I mean, you haven't really told me _why_ we moved here in the first place."

"I'm supposed to be going away for business for a couple days, but now I don't think I can leave you alone for that long."

Harper's head whipped to face her dad. "What?! Are you seriously punishing me for a one time thing?"

"Yes.", he snapped. "For the last three months, I've been too soft on you. And look where we are now. Until you can convince me otherwise, you are not leaving the apartment." Harper was about to yell, but Mark cut her off. "That is final."

Harper groaned and leaned her head against the window as she began to fall asleep. She hated how her dad was controlling her life. The chains he had on her were beginning to break her and she just wanted to get away for one night. Now he was going to keep her under constant surveillance, which would drive her mad. If she wanted to get away, she'd have to show Mark that she was at least _trying_ to behave.

The thought of it seemed stupid to her from the get go, she considered before drifting off.

 **What do you think is gonna happen next? Find out next time.**

 **Thanks again for reading! Remember to read and review.**

 **I'll see you guys in the next chapter!**

 **XXX**


	4. Chapter 4-Mysteries Unravelling

Chapter 4:

 **Disclaimer: I do not own The Wolf Among Us or its plot/story and characters. Those rights belong to Telltale. I only own my OCs.**

 ***Imitates fanfare trumpet* That's right people, I have returned! Right here we are with *gasp* another chapter.**

 **Response Time!**

 **LostHero171: I think I've gotten used to writing so *phew* that's a relief. Thanks for your kind words!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own TWAU or its characters, only my OCs. All rights go to TellTale.**

* * *

When it transpired to midnight, all was at rest in the streets of New York, save for roaring cars and blaring alarms in the distant. The only people who were present at this time of night were two men.

The one leading the duo was a burly and brawny man with a cap resting on his short brown hair. He was wearing a plain white shirt with dark pants, shotgun in hand. The one next to him looked exactly identical, except he was wearing a different hat and a light yellow shirt instead of white.

"I've got a bad feeling about this, Dee.", whispered Dum.

"Shut up.", his brother hissed, being cautious not to draw any unwanted attention to themselves.

"We've got to stop accepting every job that comes along for us.", Dum added. "They never usually end well."

"Relax will ya?", he said clutching his shotgun tightly. "As long as we're alive and getting paid, you should stop fucking complaining."

Dum sighed and shook his head. "I 'spose you're right. Where did she want to meet us again?"

Dee stopped in his tracks and pulled a small crumpled piece of paper from his pocket, where a small list of instructions were given. He traced the writing before stuffing back in his pocket. "Just down 'ere.", he said gesturing with the gun.

The two spent another five minutes slowly making their way down the street and to their meeting point. Just as they were about to pass a pitch black alleyway, a voice piped up.

"Are you the Tweedles?", asked a feminine voice. They turned and could only see a small face illuminated by the glow of her cigarette.

"Depends who's asking.", Dum snapped.

They heard the woman giggle as she crushed the cigarette with her boot. "Fair enough." She stepped out of the darkness and into the moonlight to reveal her light brown hair and chocolate eyes. She was a tall slim women and was wearing a green trenchcoat with her hair travelling halfway down her back, hands in her pockets. "I'm just a Fable who needs a job done."

Dee whipped his gun up at the woman in a form of self defence. The woman wore a smug smile as if the thought of impending doom didn't faze her. She laughed again. "There'll be no need for that." And with a slight flick of the hand, the gun escaped Dee's grasp and flew behind her, clattering to the ground.

The two brothers shared a look of shock. "You're a witch?!" The woman shrugged her shoulders, giving a sly smile.

"I prefer people to call me by my name, Stephanie." The two rolled their eyes. "Now that we've got the formalities out of the way-", she said, handing the brothers an envelope. "Why don't we get down to business?"

Dum ripped open the envelope. "There's someone I need you to find.", Stephanie said. "A girl who deserves to be reunited with her family. Pretty simple job to be honest: I was hoping you could arrange a little-" She paused, trying to search for the right term. "- _reunion_."

Looking at the first thing the brothers saw in the envelope's contents was a small photo of a young girl, with blonde hair, leaving a store. The picture itself was taken at a distance. They put the picture back in and searched through the rest, tipping out a small wad of cash.

"That's just _half_ your pay.", she said.

Dee looked down at the envelope, then Dum and then the witch. "Something tells me there's something else.", he sneered.

Stephanie's expression didn't change; she simply shrugged. "True. I might not be telling you the whole story, but that's really not important right now." She lit another cigarette. "I've heard that you're prone to use more-" She looked over her shoulder to the gun behind her. "- _persuasive_ methods, but I want that girl alive."

"Listen lady.", Dum interrupted. "If we're doing this kind of job, we better not get into any bad shit."

"What makes you think that?", Stephanie asked innocently, tilting her head.

"'Cause the last time we did, the Sheriff nearly ripped my throat out!"

She nodded as she inspected her nails. "Yes. He can get in the way of things at times." She flicked the ash off her cigarette. "And, now that you mention it, him and his friends could make things more complicated than they should be. Nonetheless, simple solution: you call and I'm there quick as a flash."

"What do mean 'call'?", Dee asked, confused.

Stephanie simply dropped her cigarette to the ground before stepping back and giving the brothers a cold stare. "Don't disappoint me." Suddenly, a swirl of red and yellow orbs circled around her body and soon disappeared with them, but the Tweedles could just about make out a sinister smile on her face before she vanished.

* * *

After spending half the night at the police station, Bigby made his way back to the Woodlands and into the Business Office, knowing full well that Snow would be there going through a heap of paperwork. He walked into the Office and the first thing he saw was Snow thumbing through a handful of documents. For the past few weeks, they had received a bunch of letters and files to sort through and Snow said she'd appreciate it if Bigby gave her a hand. But there was something he wanted to do first.

Snow's head snapped up when she heard the door open and close. "Hello, Bigby.", she greeted.

"Hey Snow.", he replied.

"Are you ready to help me with this?", she asked, gesturing to the towering pile on her desk.

Bigby nodded. "Yeah. There's just something I need to do first." Snow nodded in response, a little confused. The Sheriff crossed the room and towards a certain green winged monkey.

"Good evening, Mr. Bigby. Is there anything I can do for you?"

He scratched the back of his head. "Uh, actually, yeah. I need you to look through the records of the residents in Fabletown. See if you can find someone under the name 'Harper Dawson', or anything like that."

Bufkin nodded. "Of course. I'll get to it right away." And with that, he flew up to the maze of bookshelves, beginning his thorough search.

As Bigby made his way to the desk and pulled out a small book, Snow approached him, her gaze moving from the books and then back to him. "What's this about?"

He looked up at her. "Back at the station there was this girl, blonde hair, blue eyes, called Harper. I've never seen her before and I don't think she's a Fable, but-" He stopped as he was flicking through the pages and finally settling on the one he wanted and pointed at it. "She was wearing this." On the page was an exact copy of the item Bigby saw moments ago.

Their conversation was interrupted by Bufkin gliding over to the desk Bigby and Snow were standing around. "Found anything?", he asked.

The Fable shook his head. "Sorry Bigby, but there was no Fable under the name 'Harper'."

He frowned. "Don't worry about it."

Snow crossed her arms. "Well that's just what we need, a Mundy with a magical item."

Bigby and Snow looked back down to the book they were reading to get more information on the magical artifact. It read:

 ** _The Stone of Immunity_**

 _A rare ruby gem charmed by the witches of the Homelands that protects and defends its wearer from evil magic and demons. However, the limit of its magic now is unknown._

"At least we know it's not dangerous or cursed.", Snow said, running a hand through her dark hair. "Whoever owned the necklace before this 'Harper' girl, must know that she has it or at least knows that it's missing."

"Then who did it previously belong to?", asked Bufkin, confused.

Bigby skimmed the page before tapping on the final sentence. "A witch.", he confirmed. "Called Celeste Lockwood."

* * *

 **Da-da-DAAAAAAAA!**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and hope to see you next time.**

 **Remember to follow, favourite and review!**

 **XXX**


	5. Chapter 5-Visit

Chapter 5:

 **Disclaimer: I do not own The Wolf Among Us or its plot/story and characters. Those rights belong to Telltale. I only own my OCs.**

 **Hey guys! Long time no see! How you guys doing? Got a shorter chapter for you this time.**

 **Responses:**

 **LostHero171: Oh, this can only end _so_ well for them. (Don't worry I feel ya. Thumbs are too big for typing.)**

Bigby and Snow made their way up to the apartment complex, ascending further to the witch's, known as Celeste's, door.

"I don't get it.", Snow said as they were walking. "Celeste is one of the most responsible and trustworthy Fables I know. I don't understand why she'd let a magical item go like that."

"Once we talk to her we'll have some answers.", Bigby said lighting a cigarette.

As they reached the door, Snow rose a hand to knock on the door before pausing. "Bigby, just remember: as far as we know, Celeste isn't technically a criminal. So please can we not question her like one."

The Sheriff took a huff of his cigarette. "Don't worry about it."

She smiled. "Thanks." And with that, she knocked. They waited for a couple moments and were beginning to think that she wasn't home.

"Just a minute!", a voice from the other side of the door called out. Right after that, bunch of noises were heard as someone was cluttering around the apartment. After another moment, the door opened to reveal a young women in a pressed and pristine white dress underneath a cardigan. Long blonde hair was tied up into a high ponytail and had bright golden eyes.

She looked at the two completely gobsmacked. "Snow? Sheriff Wolf?" She smiled warmly. "What a nice surprise! What can I do for you?"

Snow returned the gesture. "Hi Celeste. Can we come in? There're some questions we'd like to ask you."

The witch's expression dimmed, if not a little hesitant, but soon smiled again. She stepped aside. "Of course. Come in."

As Snow and Bigby stepped into the apartment, Celeste walked swiftly around the room, clearing some clutter from the floor. She picked up a few books and carefully placed them back on her ordered bookshelf. "I apologise for the mess. I've recently been starting to reorganise the place."

The apartment itself was considerably substantial; it was a fair size, a sofa was in front of a small table in the middle of the room with two doorways that led to the kitchen and the bedroom. Around the outskirts of the apartment were rows of tall bookshelves beside various well kept pot plants.

"It's fine.", Bigby replied, taking another huff of his cigarette. "This shouldn't take long."

Celeste had offered the two a refreshment but they politely declined. The witch shrugged and sat down opposite to them with her own drink. She took a sip.

"What's going on?", she asked.

Snow cleared her throat. "You're the current owner of the Stone of Immunity, is that correct?"

Celeste paused. "Yeah, I remember that old thing. Been ages since I last used it."

"I wonder why.", Bigby mumbled under his breath.

"Some recent information has come to light that the stone is no longer in your possession.", Snow carried on. "That it is now owned by a Mundy."

The witch's eyes widened, shocked with this information. "Oh my goodness, really?! I'd lost track with it years ago but I never thought I _lost_ it."

"How could you 'lose' a magical item?", Bigby asked.

Celeste cringed. "I don't know. I mean I've had it for a really long time and sort of… lost interest in it. Maybe I lost it, maybe it got mixed in with some junk I was clearing out. Like I said, it's been a while."

"This is serious Celeste.", said Bigby, his tone slightly harsh. "It could be dangerous for a Mundy to possess a magical item."

"The stone is now owned by a young girl called Harper. Did you know that?", Snow asked.

After Snow asked her that question, Celeste stopped mid-sip and pressed her lips together and raised her eyebrows. She scratched her head. "Uh, no… no I-I-I don't think I did."

Snow and Bigby looked at each other. Clearly this was going nowhere. "Well, anyways, once we get it back, it will be reassigned to another resident of Fabletown. Someone who will take the responsibility more seriously."

She scoffed. "What's the point? I mean the old thing's probably powerless by now so no harm's done, right?"

Snow was shocked at these words coming from Celeste. She had always known her as one of the very few Fables that took these sorts of things seriously. "It's kind of a risk we'll have to take.", Bigby replied. He was suspicious of her reluctance of their actions but never really said or did anything for it to be a crime.

"Thank you for your time Celeste.", Snow finished. "We'll take it from here."

Celeste nodded slowly and stood up to show her guests out of the door. Bigby put out his cigarette before leaving through the doorway and Snow paused beside the witch.

"If I'm being completely honest Celeste, I'm really surprised at you. You were the last person I expected to be so reckless in a situation as serious as this."

She sighed and then shrugged. "I'm sorry, Snow. I don't know what to tell you." She waved and smiled as the two left her apartment and kept it plastered on until they left the building. She watched them leave from her window and waited for them to be completely out of sight.

Once they were, her smile dimmed, her hands clenched and her heartbeat escalated. She took a deep breath and let it out. Calmly and quietly, she walked over to one of her bookshelves and picked up a nearby pot plant.

And proceeded to smash it to the ground with a large crash.

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter! See you next time!**

 **XXX**


	6. Chapter 6-Assistance

Chapter 6:

 **Disclaimer: I do not own The Wolf Among Us or its plot/story and characters. Those rights belong to Telltale. I only own my OCs.**

 **Hey guys! Happy holidays to all! Decided to get this out as a little present. Also, I want to thank you for being patient and for reading this story. I apologise for this one being a little shorter though. Enough ramblings, enjoy the chapter!**

Celeste frantically paced all over her apartment and clutched her head, threatening to pull her hair out, uncaring for the shattered glass around her. She sat on her couch and sobbed non-stop for ten minutes straight.

Suddenly, a thought hit her and rushed to one of bookcases, skimming the shelves for the right spell book. She quickly flicked the pages as her blood ran hot like lava.

"She's so dead.", she seethed. "She is _so_ dead."

Once she found the page she was looking for, she took a deep breath and read the spell out loud.

Suddenly, a swirl of bright red and white orbs circled a spot in the room which soon took the former of a younger woman. Her whole face was covered by a green coat and hood.

"Ugh.", the girl sighed, flipping off the hood, showing her glistening green eyes and long auburn hair. "This better be good 'cause I was just-" When she realised who was in front of her, she smiled almost manically. "Celeste! Oh my goodness! It's been forever! How've you been?!"

She ran over to her and gave Celeste a suffocating hug. Celeste didn't react. She just stood there, face blank. "Nice to know you haven't forgotten about me, JoJo."

JoJo broke apart from her and gave a puppy dog face. "Oh come on. How could I forget the witch that taught me everything I needed to know about magic?!"

"Good but-" She was cut off by the witch's ramblings.

"Good? My new abilities are not just 'good'. They are a blast! You will not believe the fun I've been having lately."

"Okay-"

"My my Celeste." Her happy expression faded as she looked around the apartment. "I love your place. It's very um…" She racked her mind for the right word and, just as Celeste was about to continue her sentence, JoJo snapped her fingers. "You. It's very… you."

Celeste groaned. "Are you done yet?"

JoJo huffed and shook her head. "Anyways, why did you summon me away from my important business?"

"Snow and Bigby were just here." The young witch then showed some genuine curiosity.

"Really?", she asked. Celeste nodded sadly. Out of nowhere, JoJo smiled slyly. "Have they banged yet?" All Celeste could do in response was raise an eyebrow and JoJo put her hands up in defence. "Come on! Everyone's thinking it but I have the balls to ask."

Celeste shook her head and ignored her. "They came here because they found out that Harper has the Stone of Immunity."

JoJo was unfazed by the reveal and was actually looking a little bored. "Alright. So?"

The witch's face was now red from fuming. How could she be so laid back about this? "Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't I specifically tell you to get rid of _anything_ that could be traced back to me or Harper's existence?"

"Maybe.", she innocently replied.

"Then why didn't you deal with the information on the necklace!?"

"Jeez Celeste! In case you didn't know, I had some my own stuff going on at the time!"

Celeste rolled her eyes, having enough of what she was saying. "You mean dating Fables, scamming Mundies and then drinking yourself into a corner?"

"Well yeah. What else did you expect?" JoJo sighed. "Look, whatdya say I check in with Wolf and Princess and make sure they don't too close for comfort?"

She brushed herself down and straightened her composure. Celeste was beginning to lose more of her patience as the conversation went on, but it was hard to reject the help that she desperately needed. "Well… thanks JoJo. That means a lot to me."

"Don't mention it." The soon-to-be-touching moment was then replaced with the witch's wittiness. "But may I also remind you that my services aren't cheap.", she said rubbing her fingers together slyly.

Celeste groaned. "Yeah yeah you'll get the money."

"Pleasure doing business with you, as always. See ya!" Quick as a flash, she disappeared as the red and white orbs teleported her elsewhere, her giggle fading away with her.

Once she was gone, Celeste sat back down on the couch, a little exhausted after what transpired in the last hour. She hadn't had to deal with a problem as big as this since ten years ago. Now her past was catching up to her and it was up to her outrun it.

But first she would have to call on the help of the last person she wanted to talk to.


	7. Chapter 7-Complications

Chapter 7:

 **Disclaimer: I do not own The Wolf Among Us or its plot/story and characters. Those rights belong to Telltale. I only own my OCs.**

 **WHAAAAT! THIS FANFIC IS ALIVE?! I'm gonna be honest here, I wasn't entirely sure about this chapter and how it turned out but I posted it for you guys nonetheless :) Once again, thanks to all you awesome people who have enjoyed this story.**

* * *

The garbled sound of the television in Harper's apartment filled the her hungover mind as she tried to gather most of her thoughts without simultaneously being sick. Mark left her at the apartment saying that he had to be somewhere urgent but, after the previous night, was still more than reluctant to leave Harper on her own. There wasn't really much point, she thought, since she was still too hungover to even _try_ to escape.

Okay, so she had _one_ bad night of drinking. It's not something to kill her over. Then again if Harper had known the alcohol would come back to bite her, she probably would've thought it through.

But that wasn't the point. The point was that she was only beginning to shake off her hangover and regain her hazy thoughts. After a while, she began to think about her father's intentions. Getting drunk and arrested wasn't exactly what she wanted but still didn't think about what he would have to say. Grounding her seemed a little childish but it seemed fair: she had crossed a line and now she had to pay the price.

Harper could tell that she wasn't being entirely fair on her dad lately as she was making his life more difficult and causing him to lose patience with her. All he was trying to do was look after her like any dad would and she thought that she was being selfish.

Her hungover mind then mentally kicked her for feeling sorry for the guy. After an hour or so, she could feel her strength coming back and decided to finally pull herself off the sofa and to her bedroom. She rubbed her head when a sudden crash instantly rewired her mind.

Harper jumped when she heard voices coming from the other room. "Are you sure this is the place?", a mans voice said.

"Positive.", replied the other. After a pause, he spoke up. "Can we just find the girl and get this over with? Who knows who that witch sent us after…"

Her eyes widened in fear and confusion. They were after her? She could feel her breathing becomes more frantic but had to stop herself from revealing her position. Her head darted in numerous directions before settling on a weapon right beside her. Harper's fingers slowly gripped the baseball bat by the bed and readied herself to face death for all knew.

With this new found confidence, she moved swiftly and slowly out the room-

Only to have a gun to her head.

Dee tutted at her. "Now that's not very polite, is it?" Harper glared at him, emotions mixed of fear, confusion and hatred. "Be a good girl and put down the bat.", he commanded, his finger still on the trigger.

Not having many options, she dropped the weapon and kicked it to the side before putting her hands up. "Funny.", she said, trying to ride out the situation as well as possible. "You're talking about politeness when you break into someone's place with a gun to their head."

Dum chuckled. "Feisty one, isn't she brother?" Dee nodded snidely in agreement.

Fear began to get the better of Harper as she began running out of ideas of how she was getting out of this alive. It wasn't everyday that a bunch of random strangers break into your apartment and threaten your life. She looked down at the bat trying to imagine a way out.

It was as if the two had read her mind. "Listen love.", said Dee. "We've been paid a hefty sum of money to get you. This can either go well or not. Your choice."

Her fear and confusion suddenly skyrocketed. She may not be dead but was definitely not in the clear. "Who the hell would hire you to get me?!"

Dum was losing his patience. "Just come with us and you'll find out."

She was half-tempted to go along with it for about five seconds before completely shooting down the idea. Did they think that she was crazy? _Should_ she go along with it? Doing what these men say would mean not getting shot, but then again they could be leading her to her death for all she knew.

So she kept her hands high and reluctantly nodded compliantly. As the two thugs were beginning to look more relaxed, Harper snatched the bat from the ground and hit Dee with, giving her a chance to escape.

He yelled out in pain and raised his gun.

"Dee, hold on!" Dum tried to intervene. "She said she wanted her alive!"

Dee's eyes were locked on his target like an animal getting ready to attack its prey. "Forget that!"

And with that, he pulled the trigger, the bullet zooming across the room right towards Harper. It was all happening so fast she didn't know what to do. She just put her hands out in a pathetic attempt at defence.

However, instead of the bullet hitting her square in the chest like it was suppose to, the bullet deflected away from she and into Dum's shoulder.

As the brother collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain and agony, all Harper could do was stare in awe. _What just happened?_ , she thought. _How is this even possible?_

Dee jumped back in fear and went to his brother's side to see what damage had been caused. The shot wasn't enough to kill him, but he was still pissed.

"What did you just do?!" He raised the gun up again and shot several bullets at Harper.

Giving her no time to react, Harper tried her best to shield herself again. But what she didn't expect the bullets to fly right from her like she was a human force field. She didn't expect the phenomenon to push her back with an inhuman force.

And she definitely didn't expect the crisis to end with her flying out the window.

* * *

After their attempt at getting any useful information out of Celeste, Bigby and Snow left the apartment and walked down the street discussing the next course of action.

"So what's next?", Bigby asked crossing his arms.

Snow thought hard and carefully about the situation as she wanted to solve the problem in the best possible. "We find where this Harper girl is, find the stone and simply reassign it to someone more… trustworthy." She really didn't want to say those words since she thought that Celeste was more responsible and less reckless than some of the other witches that she knew.

"Easier said than done.", Bigby replied. He pondered about their previous interactions with the witch. "What did you think about Celeste? Did you think she was telling the truth?"

This made Snow stop for a moment before answering. "I don't really know. What she said seemed to make sense but I'm not sure if I fully trust her."

"Then we'll just have to keep an eye on her for now.", he said. "Only until-"

Suddenly, several gunshots and a loud crash were heard from across the street, which was followed by someone flying out the window. Bigby and Snow darted across the street and were absolutely shocked at the young girl lying on the street.

Getting a proper look at her, Bigby recognised who it was. He growled as Snow kneeled at the teenager's side. He looked up where Harper fell and could just about make out the faces of the people looking down from the apartment. It was the Tweedles. "Not these guys again." Bigby sprinted up the stairs ready to face off with the twins.

Dum's eyes widened in shock knowing full well what would happen if the Sheriff caught them. "This isn't good Dee…", he said worryingly.

"You don't say, Dum!", his brother replied who was panicking just as much. "What're we gonna do now?!"

As if on cue, a familiar wash of bright lights swirled in a circle in the room which soon took the form of the witch, Stephanie, the twins had met just hours ago.

And she _wasn't_ happy.

"You had, quite literally, one job.", she stated bitterly. She violently grabbed the collars of both of their shirts and the three of them disappeared into thin air just as Bigby was about to enter the apartment.

He had seen only a glimpse of the glowing orbs but he still didn't get there in time. Completely caught off guard, he walked over to where the wreckage was caused and could see that Snow was trying to help Harper as much as she could.

She gave the girl a slight shake. "Hello. Are you okay? Can you hear me?"

To her surprise, Harper weakly turned over on her back and tried regaining her bearings. Her whole body ached from head to toe but for some reason she had no broken bones. Eyes widening, a sudden realisation hit her.

 _How the hell am I not dead?!_

* * *

 **Thanks for being so patient with this fanfic! I'll be sure to update when I can!**

 **XXX**


	8. Chapter 8-Damage Control

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Wolf Among Us or its plot/story and characters. Those rights belong to Telltale. I only own my OCs.**

 **So. *looks around* It's been a while. In all seriousness, I haven't updated in a few months because writers block and a busy life _don't_ mix. Hopefully once inspiration hits, things will pick up again.**

* * *

After Celeste had summoned JoJo away from who knows what and gave her the low down of what was going on, the young witch was now tasked with damage control of the situation. Once she teleported away, she made a duffel bag manifest with a flick of the wrist. She slung it over her shoulder, prepared for her job.

She made her way into the Woodlands Apartment Complex; she figured that she may as well walk right in since Grimble would probably be sleeping on the job again. Outside the Business Office, JoJo found it odd that no one was complaining about a ridiculously long line. She straightened herself and lightly knocked on the door. Before anyone could respond, she turned the doorknob and quietly peeped her head into the room.

"Hello?", she called out. No response. She closed the door behind her. "Anybody home?" The witch's voice echoed across the room and looked around and still received no response.

JoJo grinned. "Guess not." She set her duffel bag down on the floor and walked over to a table where different kinds of books were spread out. She began flicking through the pages and soon found the page she was looking for.

Suddenly, she heard a rustle from behind her and quickly whipped around, her long auburn hair flicked in the air. A long sigh was released when no threat was the source of the noise.

"Bufkin! You scared me!"

The green winged monkey had a perplexed look on his face. "Miss Josephine? How can I help you?"

JoJo stuttered, trying to come up with a valid response. "Uh, well… I was just in the neighbourhood and figured I would drop in. See how everyone's doing." She looked around before looking back at Bufkin. "Say, where _are_ Bigby and Snow anyway.", she asked whilst playing with her hair, try to look as innocent as possible.

"Miss Snow and Mr Bigby left to deal with an important matter.", Bufkin replied.

She clicked her tongue. "Alright." She leaned on the table. "Would it be alright if I waited until they come back?"

"I don't see any reason why not.", he said with a warm smile.

"Uh-huh." JoJo immediately turned back around and looked back at the page. She found her place and mumbled to herself, "Celeste Lockwood: One of the most well-known witches back in the Homelands, but was mainly notorious for her deeds with her sister, Stephanie Lockwood…"

"What're you doing?", Bufkin asked over her shoulder, causing her to jump.

"Would you stop giving me heart attacks?!"

"I apologise Miss Josephine, but I'm afraid those books are very confidential.", he informed with a serious tone.

JoJo sighed. She figured this was going to happen. "I guess you're right. Hold that thought." She held out her hand and chanted something unintelligible before a sleep spell was casted on the flying monkey. After a moment of confusion, Bufkin slowly went limp and fell to the ground, muttering something in his magic induced sleep. "No hard feelings, Bufkin. Just doing my job."

Wasting no time, she ripped out all the pages about the Fable she was working for. She carelessly stuffed the papers in her bag and gracefully strided towards the door. Stopping herself, she thought about the book that got her summoned in the first place. She found the book open on the 'Stone of Immunity' and didn't think twice before ripping that page out as well.

The monkey was still snoring away and JoJo chuckled before slamming the Office door shut, as if she was never even there.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! See you next time!**


	9. Chapter 9-Oldie, But A Goodie

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Wolf Among Us or its plot/story and characters. Those rights belong to Telltale. I only own my OCs.**

* * *

"I gave you, quite literally, one job.", Stephanie muttered bitterly for the third time in the last hour.

Her back was facing the Tweedle twins, who were tied to separate chairs. She could hear Dee (or Dum, she didn't really care at this point) struggling against his bindings. Without looking away from her work, she slowly curled an open hand into a fist which magically made the ropes tighten against his wrists and ankles. She couldn't help but smirk at the Tweedle's startled yelp.

"Was that really necessary?", Dee asked in annoyance.

"Sorry.", the witch replied in a mockigly innocent voice, pouting her lip out at the man. "Just don't want you to do anything you might regret."

"What my brother is _trying_ to say-", Dum interrupted. "-is that there's absolutely no reason for this level of mindless torture!"

After failing their little "job", Stephanie had whisked them away into a basement where the exact location was unknown. She put them to sleep with a spell and captivated them. Once they woke up, she began their punishment. They were beaten black and blue by the force of her fists; they had to admit, she was a lot… feistier than she looked. Every now and again she take a break from the physical torture and started using magic to screw with them. When she was sure that the insults and defiance were beaten into silence, she began working on something new.

She let out a cry of laughter and spun around to face them. She bent down slightly so she was level with their faces like she was a mother scolding a child. "That's _rich_ coming from you!"

Dum spat in her face. Stephanie didn't blink. Instead, she flicked a wrist across her face and a nearby wooden crate flew in her hand's direction and shattered against the man's head.

"Anything else?", she asked. A moment of death glares and silence passed. "Didn't think so."

Stephanie turned back to her work and reached a raw and bloody hand to a jar of . "No matter. If you want something done-" She reached for another jar . "-do it yourself." She dumped the peculiar ingredients into a bubbling pot.

Dee strained his head trying to see what the witch was doing. "What're you gonna do with that?"

She rolled her eyes. "Relax, it's not for you." Her gaze was hard on the pot. " _This_ is an oldie, but a goodie. It's been ten years since I casted this spell but I thought it's time we brought back the big guns."

Dum stared at her with a look of confusion. "What the hell are you on about?"

"When you told me about the girl's power and the strange necklace she was wearing, I knew I was going to need more than simple hitmen to carry out my plans. Honestly, I'm not surprised Celeste gave the stone to her. If my magic was doing that much damage, of course she was going to need magical protection."

Realising that she was giving too much away, Stephanie ceased her explanation. Good thing too; the spell was almost complete. She took this strange piece of bark that was black in colour. She couldn't hold back the childish giggle as she dropped the bark into the pot and chanted the spell.

The closer she got to the spell, the darker the pot's contents grew in color. Once it was complete, the magic exploded into a ball of electricity that separated into several entities. They were different in shape but same in size and ferocity. After letting inhuman roars, Stephanie flicked her hand in satisfaction and they disappeared into thin air.

Dum gaped at the scene that unfolded before them. "Where'd they go?"

The witch turned around slowly and smiled a smile that made both Tweedle's feel fear.

"They are going to pay the child… a little visit."

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 **Thanks for reading! Until next time!**


	10. Chapter 10-Encounter

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Wolf Among Us or its plot/story and characters. Those rights belong to Telltale. I only own my OCs.**

 **I would like to thank all of you again for being so patient! I know updates between chapters have been very inconsistent but once things become less busy (hopefully in a few weeks), this story can pick up pace again. Also, I know this will be a bit of a filler chapter, but next chapter the plot will pick up (I definitely have some things planned).**

* * *

Harper was vaguely aware that she was lying down. Or standing. The fact that she was also floating made it hard to tell which way was up. No matter how much she tried to move or look around to see where she was, her body refused to cooperate.

"Hello?", she called out, her voice echoing around the mysterious void she was in. Even though the situation was unsettling to her, it also felt… strangely familiar. Like she had this sort of experience before, but she couldn't seem to grasp at even a small recollection.

All of a sudden, the void around her began to tremble as she heard what vaguely resembled a monstrous growl in the distance that only seemed to be growing louder the longer the encounter went on.

On instinct, Harper tried to curl up protectively but then remembered that her body was frozen in place. The growls were now all around her as they began to come from several different sources. Before she could comprehend what was going on, several demonic faces pierced through the darkness and hurled themselves towards the defenceless girl. Harper shrieked out in terror as the spectral beings lashed at her all at once.

It was as if she was being slashed with a thousand knives. The pain, inside and outside, was unbearable as the dark entities showed no mercy on her pitiful soul. When one was done assaulting her, the next would have their turn.

Just when she was readying herself for the next fatal blow, Harper felt a small thrum against her chest. Looking down, she could see her necklace glow a neon red, it's low buzzing growing louder. She felt a strange sensation flow throughout her body which allowed her to freely move again. She let out a pained gasp as she quickly wrapped her arms around herself protectively and one hand instinctively going to her chest. She was pretty sure that her necklace wasn't supposed to do that.

She looked up from her crystal necklace to see the monstrous entities silently hovering around her. Whenever the stone around her neck glowed, the creatures recoiled back, as if harmed or frightened by its presence. They attempted to ease their way back to her, the stone only glowed more fiercely in response.

A heartbeat later, the creatures poised themselves to strike again and Harper immediately curled in on herself, the only option she could think of. However, no unbearable pain ever came and she willed her herself to open her eyes.

Only to see the dark creatures retreating away from her.

* * *

After Harper was blasted out of a window, both her and Snow were in shock about the fact that she did not die from the impact. However, Snow regained her composure quite quickly and did her best to soothe the distressed teenager. However, Harper wasn't calming down and began to hyperventilate. Bigby was looking down at the scene and immediately raced back down, filling the Tweedle's abrupt disappearance at the back of his mind.

Once he had reached the two, the poor girl had already passed out from shock, with Snow looking her over for any physical injury. She found none, except for a bleeding head wound and minor cuts and bruises. Looking up at Bigby, who had the same surprised and confused expression. Knowing that this wasn't a normal occurrence, whilst also worrying for the girl's safety, they agreed to take Harper back to Bigby's apartment to have Doctor Swinehart look her over.

Harper remained unconscious for the majority of his examination, only hissing in pain when he prodded her head wound and felt around for any broken bones. There weren't any, to everyone's surprise.

"Is she going to be alright, doctor?", Snow asked as Doctor Swineheart looked over the young girl.

The doctor hummed to himself. "Well, she doesn't seem to have any extreme physical injuries, but for the effect of the head wound? That remains of be seen until she wakes up."

Snow nodded and looked back to the girl. "I don't understand how she could've survived that fall. She's definitely not a Fable, but Mundy would be dead or at last have some serious injuries."

Bigby crossed his arms. "Maybe she's not a Mundy." When Snow turned with her eyebrows furrowed, Bigby shrugged. "Well, with her coincidentally having a magical item, I think it's safe to say that she's not… a normal Mundy."

"So… you think she might be a… half Fable?"

Swineheart stood up from his place. "Well, it is something to consider."

Their conversation was broken by a bright scarlet glow catching their eyes and a low thrumming noise emanated from the crystal around the girl's neck. They instinctively took a step away and waited with baited breath for the shine to subside, as if expecting something to happen. After several heartbeats, the groan-like sound from the stone ceased and Harper began to stir. She was trying and failing to lift herself and was now becoming aware that she was somewhere unknown to her. She tried again to get up but gasped when she put her weight on her arm and collapsed onto her back.

Seeing the girl in pain, Snow rushed forward in an attempt to soothe her. "Don't try to move. You took… quite the fall."

Recognising Snow's voice from earlier, Harper snapped her attention to woman beside her. She then realised that she was in an unfamiliar place and began tremble. "Where am I? What happened?" She was shaking violently and nothing was making sense to her as the day's events started coming back to her.

"That's… what we're trying to find out.", a gruff voice said. When Harper looked at Bigby, her mind went back to her bad night of drinking and vaguely recalled the man from her 'interview'.

The doctor behind them cleared his throat, motioning for Bigby and Snow to step aside so he could examine Harper's condition. "Miss Dawson, I am Doctor Swineheart. I'm aware that you fell out of window earlier today?" Not knowing what else to do, Harper simply nodded. "May I ask how much pain you are in? Does anything feel out of the ordinary?"

Harper was about to respond with something along the lines of 'Well, yeah, I fell out of a window', but then stopped herself when she realise the pain radiating all over her body was strangely beginning to subside. Her arm still ached and stung when she stretched it but found that it wasn't broken.

She swung her legs over to set her feet down to the floor and was met with the same dull throbbing ache. "Not anymore."

The elder man nodded once. "That's understandable." He dug through his medical bag and pulled out a prescription and handed them to the girl. "Take one of these every few hours and you should be healed by tomorrow."

Harper nodded in thanks and turned to the other adults in front of her. "Can, uh, someone tell me what happened? 'Cause I just fell out of a three storey window and I don't know how exactly I'm still alive."

Snow sat next to the young girl. "We may be able to explain."

"But first-", Bigby said. "-we're gonna have to know what caused to fall out of the window in the first place."

Swineheart gave Harper a glass of water and she used it to take down her painkiller. Taking a few extra sips, she readied herself and took a deep breath, thinking back to what transpired earlier. "So… these two guys broke into my apartment…"

* * *

 **Thanks for reading, see you next time!**

 **XXX**


	11. Chapter 11-Unbelievable Truth

**In case there was any doubt, I have no intention to abandon this. I'm so sorry for keeping you guys waiting and I hope you're still enjoying the story.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own The Wolf Among Us or its plot/story and characters. Those rights belong to Telltale. I only own my OCs.**

* * *

After a few moments of gathering her thoughts, Harper was able to relay the day's to the people before her, from the men breaking into her home and holding her at gunpoint, intending to kidnap her, shot at her and then the magic that both protected her and blew her out of the window. Specifically the last part was what threw them off track.

"Hold up.", Bigby interrupted. "What did you say?"

Harper stuttered. When she was explaining, she was expecting the people in front of her to write her off as crazy or simply lying. They looked surprised, but not that they didn't believe her, more that they were caught off guard by what she was saying. "Um, I somehow deflected the bullets and then got blasted out of the window."

Bigby and Snow looked to each other suspiciously and them back to the girl. They already thought it was suspicious that the teenage girl had a centuries old magical item but to be involved in something that definitely sounded like magic, raised a bunch of red flags.

After regaining her composure, Snow cleared her throat. "Harper, this may be an odd question, but where did you get your necklace?"

Harper raised an eyebrow and her hand instinctively went to her necklace. "I… I don't know. My dad gave it to me when I was little, said it belonged to my mom."

"And you've never taken it off?", Bigby asked.

"Not unless I have to.", Harper shrugged. She had asked about her mother many times as a child but only until a couple years back did her father tell her that she passed away when she was little. She had kept the necklace with her but after that she always wore it, wanting to keep as much of her mother near her as possible. She shook her head. "What's this got to do with what happened to me?"

"Uh…", Snow struggled to find the words to describe what they thought when they were struggling to grasp the situation themselves. "We don't fully know, but we've got an idea."

"And how exactly are you planning to test this out?", Harper asked slowly.

The older man cleared his throat and the other three looked to Doctor Swineheart. He approached the young girl, pulling out a small bottle out of his medical bag and handed it to her. "Miss Dawson if you could please drink this medicine."

Harper eyed the liquid suspiciously as it seemed to be fizzing. She was slightly confused about the sudden change in subject but if this was supposed to solve the mystery of what was going on, she would take the chance. She reluctantly downed the bottle, cringing at the bitter taste.

She set the bottle to the side, waiting for something to happen but she didn't feel any different. "So… what exactly does this 'medicine' do?"

Swineheart looked her over for a moment and then looked to Snow and Bigby, who had looks of disbelief all over their faces. After a minute or so, the doctor nodded and looked to the woman. "Does that confirm your suspicions, Miss Snow?"

Snow reluctantly nodded and Harper huffed. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"What you just drank was a memory-wiping potion.", Bigby replied bluntly.

Harper paused and then scoffed incredulously. "'Memory-wiping potion'? That sounds like magic."

"Exactly.", Bigby smirked.

The teenager blinked. "Wait, you're serious?" She looked to the three adults who didn't seem to deny what was being said. "That's ridiculous! How can magic exist?" She considered what was being said before. "Are you implying in that I might be magic?"

Snow shook her head. "Not implying, confirming." She continued before Harper could interrupt. "Memory spells don't work on Fables so since it didn't have any effect on you, it's most likely that you're at least half-Fable."

"Excuse me, but what is a _Fable_?"

The woman sighed, trying to explain this in the best possible way. "There is a place in the city known as Bullfinch Street that is also known as 'Fabletown'. This is because all of the fairytales you're familiar with are real, including us. We are known as Fables." She stopped to see the teenager's unchanging expression as if she was processing what was being said. Nevertheless, she continued. "That necklace you're wearing is a magical stone dating centuries back. The fact that you have it and appear to be gifted with magic seems to point at the possibility of you being one of us."

With the explanation out of the way, they all waited to see how Harper reacted. The girl merely gaped at them. Out of all the things that could've been said, the idea of fairytale characters being real seemed far fetched to her. Even with the day's events and the weird dream with her necklace seemed to support it. But it couldn't be true, could it?

She laughed nervously. "Fairytales? Real?" She shook her head. "Sorry, but that can't be true. Seriously, you could've made up a better explanation than that."

Bigby studied her for a moment and then smirked, looking at Snow. "Should I?"

Snow sighed in defeat. She knew this was going to happen. "Sure, go ahead."

"Colin! Come on out!" He looked back to Harper. "Promise not to scream."

She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. There wasn't anyone else in the apartment except for the three of them and the doctor. That is until a pig walked out from behind that corner and stopped next to Bigby's feet.

The pig, Colin, smiled at her. "This good enough proof for you, kid?"

Harper widened her eyes as her reality was crushed. She didn't promise anything. So she screamed.


	12. Chapter 12-A Clearer View

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Wolf Among Us or its plot/story and characters. Those rights belong to Telltale. I only own my OCs.**

* * *

Bigby and Snow stood helplessly as Harper had her little meltdown. Colin, on the other hand, was simply unamused. He winced at her voice and raised his hoof to one of his ears. "Wow, kid, you seriously got some pipes!", he said, trying to make his voice heard above the screaming. That, however, didn't seem to placate Harper as she continued to shriek.

"Colin, you are not helping.", Snow said through gritted teeth.

The pig looked up at the woman. "Really? That breaks my heart, Snow."

"Well, can you blame her?", Swineheart asked from behind the group. "You're not a common sight to Mundy eyes."

"Stay out of this, Swiney.", Colin snapped. The doctor simply huffed and avoided talking to or even looking at the pig.

Throughout the whole exchange, Bigby rolled his eyes since he was getting tired of Harper's dramatics. "Hey!", he barked at her. His voice startled her into silence and she unconsciously backed up and shrank into her seat, trying to somehow get away from the people (and pig) before her. "Are you done?"

Harper numbly nodded but that wasn't entirely true. Now that she stopped, she was ready to calm down but a part of her wanted her to continue her freak out. But she had to properly deal with the situation eventually. "Yeah.", she breathed out.

Snow stepped forward slowly. "I'm sorry about that, Harper. Colin doesn't get… many guests."

The teenager let out a shaky laugh. "I wonder why."

"We understand that this is quite a shock, Harper, but since you're technically one of us, your safety is our responsibility.", Bigby said.

"Responsibility?", Harper asked.

"You see-", Snow replied. "-Bigby is the Sheriff of Fabeltown, tasked to make sure that everyone is safe."

"Oh.", Harper said. Since what she knew was now blown out of proportion, probably nothing new would surprise her at that point. "So… does that mean you're Snow… White?" Said woman nodded. "Wow.", she drawled out, trying to process everything.

She turned to Bigby. Bigby _Wolf… Oh._

"And you're… _the_ wolf?", she asked nervously.

"I'm not gonna eat you, if that's what you're worried about.", Bigby said.

"Yeah, I mean he hasn't eaten me.", Colin added with a smirk.

Harper rose an eyebrow. "Uh-huh. So what happens now?"

"Well, two of our own almost killed you, so it looks like we need to figure why and what they're up to. Do you have any idea what?"

She shook her head. "Only that someone paid them to get me."

"And they didn't say anything else?", Bigby asked.

The teen paused for a moment and then seemed reluctant to reply. "Well, they mentioned that she was a 'witch'. I just thought that was a weird insult but now with what I know…", she trailed off.

Bigby and Snow gave each other a worrying look. The woman gently gripped his arm and dragged him back, whispering something that Harper couldn't catch. It looked like Bigby was considering what she was saying before nodding and Snow swiftly made her way towards the door, casting Harper a questioning look. Once she left, Haper looked at the Sheriff suspiciously. "Where'd she go?"

"She's just going to check on something.", Bigby replied. There was definitely something going on but Harper didn't have it in her to press on. "Meanwhile, I have to look after you until we can figure out what exactly is going on.", Bigby said bitingly.

"Not so happy with babysitting, Bigby?", Colin asked teasingly.

Harper crosses her arms, a little offended. "I'm not a baby, so I'm pretty sure that doesn't count.", she said snappily.

Colin whistled. "Never thought it would be possible: a child defending the Big Bad Wolf."

The girl threw her hands up in defeat whilst Bigby let out a low growl. Doctor Swineheart picked up his medical bag and headed for the door. "And I think that will be my cue to leave." He looked to Harper. "Take care, Miss Dawson."

She swallowed thickly. "Thank you."

The older man turned to Bigby and nodded respectfully. "Sheriff." He offered a small goodbye to Colin.

"Always nice to see you Swiney!", the pig called out as the door closed.

The three of them now sat in an awkward silence, none of them knowning what to do next. Harper was in a new situation that destroyed everything she thought she knew about the world and couldn't help but feel slightly cheated. She never knew much about her family, but did her father have any idea what she was. How did he fit into all of this?

Bigby looked down to the floor. This was slightly new to him as well. Just when he thought he knew everything about what was going on in Fabletown something new exploded right in front of him. But it looked like he would have to ride this out as best as he could.

First things first, make Harper feel less uncomfortable as possible. He couldn't help but feel sorry about her finding out a whole new aspect of her life and what she knew about her current one was false.

"Get up.", he asked. Harper looked up nervously. He nodded towards the door. "Come on."

She stood up shakily. "Where're we going?"

"You want to know more about… us?"

Harper considered the question for a moment. The entire concept of fairytale figures being _real_ was both unbelievable and interesting to her. She seemed to anxious to ask more questions about them, but if that knowledge was going to offered then she wasn't going to refuse. "Y-yeah. I'd like to know."

Bigby smirked. "Then let's get going."

* * *

 ***Sigh* Now we're _finally_ getting into plot stuff!**


	13. Chapter 13-A Slight Inconvenience

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Wolf Among Us or its plot/story and characters. Those rights belong to Telltale. I only own my OCs.**

 **Back with another chapter, hope you guys enjoy!**

* * *

Bigby led Harper through the apartment building and towards the Business Office, where she was promised to find out more about Fables. She sucked in a quick breath. "So, like, everyone in this area is a fairytale character?"

The sheriff shrugged. "Pretty much."

"And you're actually… _the_ wolf?", she asked nervously.

He smirked. "Again, yes."

Harper nodded her head in understanding. "I'm sorry if I'm coming off as a pest. It just a bit of a shock, is all."

"Well, this is definitely a circumstance we've never had to deal with before, so I guess the feeling's mutual."

That response made Harper smile a bit. Was she really that special that the _Big Bad Wolf_ himself was shocked? She had heard the different fairytale stories from her father but now being told that they were real had thrown everything that she knew way out of proportion.

Her father… what would he have to say about everything? Did he know about all of this, about what she could possibly be? Was he one of them as well, or was it her mother? Was that why he never talked about her?

Harper's thoughts were cut off when Bigby opened a wooden door and gestured for her to walk in first. Entering the spacious room, Harper noticed that it was quite sparse, save for a few tables, chests of drawers, books piled up at the side and an ageing mirror in the corner. At first sight, Harper didn't think there was anything special about the so-called Office but it wasn't just a few minutes ago that she learned that not everything was always what it seemed.

As Bigby went deeper into the room, Harper could hear him huff. "You have got to be kidding me."

Curious, Harper went over to where he was standing before her heart stopped in her chest. Sleeping on a table was a green, winged monkey, snoring away. She looked to Bigby for clarification.

He sighed. "Harper, this is Bufkin."

She laughed nervously. "And I thought the talking pig was the weirdest thing I've seen today."

"You'll get used to that sort of thing." Bigby reached out to shake the creature awake. "Hey, Bufkin! Wake up!"

The winged monkey snorted lightly before its eyes fluttered open and yawned. He became more lucid once he caught sight of Bigby. "Oh, Mr. Bigby, I apologise!" A look of confusion flashed across his face when she saw the teenage girl beside Bigby.

Bigby gestured to her, flippantly. "Bufkin, this is Harper Dawson. We have reason to believe that she might be a Fable. Or half-Fable, at least."

"Oh.", he replied. "Nice to meet you, Miss Dawson." He smiled warmly and gave a dip of his chin in greeting. "I hope that this isn't too shocking for you."

Harper tried to keep her composure whilst talking to a strange, new creature. "Likewise, and don't worry, I'm handling this as well as a teenager could."

Bufkin's smile grew. "That's a relief."

Bigby cleared his throat. "Bufkin, wanna tell me why you were sleeping in the Office whilst Snow and I were out?"

The creature scratched the back of his head in thought. "Hm, I was minding the Business Office, just as you and Miss Snow asked me to, Miss Josephine came to visit shortly afters and then…" He trailed off and then gasped. "I'm pretty sure she casted a spell on me!"

The Sheriff's face was unreadable for a moment before he growled and covered his face with a hand. "You have _got_ to be kidding me. _JoJo?!_ "

Bufkin nodded solemnly. "I'm sorry, Mr Bigby. I did try to stop her."

Bigby sighed lowly. "It's okay." His annoyed tone suggested that he wasn't too happy about the situation.

Harper looked between them in confusion. "Um, who's JoJo?"

"A witch. A very delinquent one at that.", Bufkin replied bluntly.

"She always likes to cause trouble for others, but I can't imagine what she could possibly want now.", Bigby wondered the last part out loud.

Bufkin tilted his head to the side, finger at his chin. "Well, I did see her looking at the Book of Fables, the page on Stephanie and Celeste Lockwood."

Bigby rose an eyebrow. "Really?" When Bufkin nodded in response, the Sheriff immediately turned on his heel and strode over to another table. He flipped through one of the books strewn out and Harper could see the frustration creep into his face when he saw a rip in the book. Most likely, a page had been taken out.

He slammed the table, exclaiming out. Harper recoiled in surprise. "What's the big deal?"

He gestured to the young girl. "The page she stole was on the necklace that you have."

Harper looked at her crystal in shock. "Wait, so my necklace is actually hundreds of years old?!", she asked in disbelief.

Bufkin cleared his throat awkwardly. "Um, centuries old, Miss Harper."

She looked at Bigby incredulously. "Seriously?"

"Yep, seriously.", he replied.

"So, why would she take it?"

Bigby motioned for her to follow him. "That's what we're gonna find out." Harper followed Bigby to a large mirror and he gestured for her to stand behind him. He then stood on the spots deep in thought. When Harper was about to ask what he was planning to do, Bigby spoke. "Hey, Magic Mirror." All of a sudden a green face floated inside the mirror, eyeing Harper with curiosity. "Harper, this is the Magic Mirror." The teenager waved nervously.

"What is your question this time, Bigby?"

He sighed. "Can't believe I have to do this.", he muttered under his breath. "Mirror, mirror, for this… teen, show me the witch, Josephine."

Harper snorted. "You have to ask in rhyme?"

"Every question, every time, the person must always request in rhyme.", the Mirror responded.

"Uh-huh, guess that answers that."

"My answer?", Bigby groaned at the small exchange.

The Magic Mirror rolled his eyes slightly. "Very well." And with that, the Mirror's face disappeared and was replaced with the scene of a young sitting in a bar, exaggeratedly conversing with two patrons.

"The Trip-Trap? Really?", Bigby asked, frustrated.

He stormed off without saying anything else to the Magic Mirror and Harper could see it's annoyance when the face appeared again. Not knowing what to do, Harper reluctantly bowed. "Um, thanks." She could hear the Mirror chuckle as she also walked away.

Bufkin was waiting eagerly for Bigby and Harper. His face lit up when they approached him again. "So, do you know where she is?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Bufkin looked at him in confusion. "She's at the Trip-Trap Bar."

Harper caught Bufkin's momentary wince. "Ah, yes, that may be troublesome."

"Why will that be a problem?", Harper wondered.

"Remember when you and that guy were so drunk that I had to break you apart?", Bigby asked. Harper nodded, cringing at her memory of that night. "With JoJo, it's worse. And there's only _one_ of her."

Harper's eyes widened. _Was this girl_ that _bad?_

He pointed at her. "You stay here, I'll go get her."

However, Harper wasn't so content with that decision and started following after Bigby again. "I'm coming with you!"

Bigby chuckled. "Why would I take a teenager back to the same bar where she was irresponsibly drunk?"

Harper crossed her arms, not breaking eye contact. "Because this _teenager_ needs the information she deserves on her apparently magical necklace. You can't really leave me out of the loop for this one."

As much as Bigby didn't want to let this girl come with him, he couldn't help but feel sorry for her. He couldn't imagine what it would feel like for someone to find out that they had been lied to about who they were for their whole life. Now Harper was finally getting answers and Bigby could blame her for not wanting to miss anything out.

He groaned internally.

 _Don't make me regret this, kid._


	14. Chapter 14-An Undesirable Reveal

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Wolf Among Us or its plot/story and characters. Those rights belong to Telltale. I only own my OCs.**

* * *

The silence between Bigby and Harper as they walked to the Trip-Trap Bar was awkward at best and suffocating at worst. The girl seemed to be keeping to herself and, given everything that had been told to her that day, the Sheriff was more than willing to let her have that.

However, seeing as this was the first time they ever had to deal with a half-Fable, Bigby felt way out of his element. He also began to wonder how Snow was doing; what was she doing? She seemed to have had her own lead to follow up on so, for now, he was alone on his end.

Harper's attention usually wondered off of Bigby and towards the landscape around her. If this whole area belonged to the real fairytale characters, it blew everything she knew about the world out of proportion. How many of these people were running around? Were there others around the world too? It felt completely odd to now view the world she grew up in in a different light.

"So. This bar I was in the other night… is run by Fables?"

Bigby rolled his eyes. "Yes."

"Huh.", she replied quietly. "They're, uh, not mad about what I did the other night, aren't they?"

The Sheriff smirked. "Probably, but don't worry about it. That sort of stuff happens all the time."

Harper nodded in understanding and heaved a sigh of relief. "Okay, thanks."

When the two of them stopped in front of the bar, Bigby held up a hand to Harper. "Wait out here."

Harper gaped at him incredulously. "What? I thought you said I could tag along!"

"I think you're forgetting the fact that you're under twenty-one, so you can't come in." He cut her off when she was ready to interrupt. "And don't forget the last time you were found at a bar."

The teenager winced. "Seriously? It wasn't that big a deal." Bigby rose an eyebrow, unamused. "I mean, in my defence, it's a two way street: they shouldn't have sold me alcohol in the first place."

"Oh, don't worry.", Bigby replied tiredly. "That's gonna be addressed." He pointed at the wall next to the door. "Stay there.", he demanded.

Harper scoffed exaggeratedly and crossed her arms, leaning against the wall and planting a foot against. Once Bigby was sure that she wasn't going to move while he was gone, he entered the bar. He could hear Harper mutter under breath. "Seriously?"

* * *

"So, Sheriff…", Gren drawled out as Bigby entered the bar. "Who're you looking for this time?", he asked, knowing that the Sheriff rarely visited the bar unless it was to break up a fight (something he doubted needed his help) or he was searching for someone.

His eyes travelled across the room until they landed on a young girl hanging onto the table top for dear life with one hand and desperately clutching a bottle of scotch to her chest in the other. "Found them.", he responded.

Holly followed his gaze and smirked. "By all means. She's one of my best customers, but I do not like her when she's hammered."

"Thanks.", Bigby replied reluctantly. He wasn't looking forward to dealing with a drunk Fable. He made his way over to her, a reached a hand to roughly shake her shoulder. "Hey, Jojo! Get up!"

The girl whined and lightly batted his hand away. "Five more minutes.", she mumbled.

Bigby rolled his eyes and grabbed both of her upper arms. "Come on, you're coming with me."

Her eyes opened up a sliver and a big grin grew on her face. "Heeeeey! Wooolfieeee!", she exclaimed (a little too) happily. "Long time no see!" The Sheriff didn't respond as he dragged her away from her place at the bar. "Where have you been?! It's been like… _forever!_ " Her drunken smile faded for a moment. "No, seriously, where have you been?" Once Bigby raised an eyebrow at her, she burst out laughing again. "Ha, you got me! I know, couldn't take that seriously either!"

"Now I remember why I don't like dealing with you…", Bigby muttered as he got her up to her feet.

She weakly punched his shoulder. "Ah, you love me and my stunts." She hiccuped. "Oh, no, wait, your heart belongs to Princess What's-Her-Face."

"Okay, we're leaving now.", the Sheriff responded quickly when he heard Holly and Gren chuckling at that remark.

* * *

Harper was humming to herself out of boredom ever since she started waiting for Bigby to come back out of the bar with the Fable that he was looking for. She wasn't going to lie to herself: she became gradually more nervous as she met more of these fairytale people. She grew up thinking that these people were make believe but seeing more and more of them in the living flesh made the experience all the more surreal for her.

Not to mention that she was supposedly one of them was a little too unbelievable for her. How could she be a Fable? She couldn't imagine herself living in that reality. Could she?

Her thoughts were cut off when she heard the front door burst open and saw Bigby stumbling out of the bar with a woman who was giggling happily.

"Shut. Up. Already. Jojo.", Bigby growled.

Jojo groaned exaggeratedly as she pushed herself away from him. "I'm serious! Everyone in Fabletown know that you guys would be sooooo cuuuute together!" She paused when she saw Harper. " _Baby!_ " She tore away from Bigby to crush the teenager in a suffocating hug. "Awww, I'm so glad to see you again!"

If it wasn't for that statement, Harper would've commented on the sickening scent of alcohol being breathed into her face. "Wait, you _know_ me!?"

At the same time, Bigby asked, "You _know_ her!?"

With one arm now around Harper's shoulder, Jojo placed a messy kiss on her cheek. "Oh, Harper! I've know you since you were a itty bitty baby!", she laughed and hiccuped at the same time. "Although, if I'm being completely honest, I didn't hang around you a lot of the time because _hoo boy_ , you screamed a lot." She pinched Harper's cheek. "Still. Cute baby."

Harper batted her hand away. This was getting too weird for her liking. "Okay then, answer me this: how do you know me?"

Jojo held up a finger, ready to explain herself when her face took on a more perplexed yet serious expression. "Oh, wait. I don't think I was supposed to tell you any of this." She looked to a distressed Harper and a furious Bigby. "My bad."

No one had time to catch her as she passed out.

* * *

 **For the record, the chapter's document title was 'ASC JOJO IS FUN TO WRITE'.**


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